German Biofuel Use for Transportation to Stagnate, Group Says

Are you listening Congress? This is why you need to get the tax credit renewed as quickly as possible and make it a multi-year incentive program.

June 10 (Bloomberg) — German use of ethanol and biodiesel to power vehicles will stagnate for the next few years because of insufficient government incentives, a renewable-energy lobby group said.

Biofuels will make up about 5 percent to 6 percent of total transportation fuels in the period, little changed from 2009, said Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes, a board member of the BEE German Renewable Energy Federation, in an interview today in Berlin.

“There is no stable policy framework for biofuels and this is hurting their use,” he said.

Biofuel and biodiesel made up 5.4 percent of total transportation fuels last year in Germany. Use of fuels made from plants has fallen in Europe’s largest economy after the government eliminated tax exemptions for consumers.

Tax breaks for biofuels and biodiesel are the best way to encourage expanding their use, said Hinrichs-Rahlwes.